Rob Gilchrist : Saving the country economically from people who do a lot of good (…and need a shave)

Update (December 26) : miss x on ‘The beauty of hindsight – police informant caught after 10 years’, de.indymedia.org and Some thoughts by ultra_151. The first essay examines the methodology Rob employed in order to establish political credibility and a personal profile, as well as personal and social relationships. The main aim being to obtain reliable sources of information on ‘persons of interest’ to the state, business and allied interests. Both examine some of the issues infiltration raises for activists groups and the politically committed, its effects upon organisation and morale, and some of the ways in which vulnerabilities are exploited by police and other agencies. I might write a longer piece myself at some point, but I honestly dunno what vision is left and is anyone asking…

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“Thanks for the photos Rob!” Fnarr fnarr.

‘Nice little memento’ for police spy
Patrick Gower
New Zealand Herald
December 20, 2008

Police-paid spy Rob Gilchrist says a senior officer shook his hand and gave him a “nice little memento” as thanks for his 10 years of undercover work.

Mr Gilchrist said the officer visited him on Thursday night, five days after his role infiltrating activist organisations was publicly exposed.

“It was a very gracious thanks,” Mr Gilchrist told the Weekend Herald. “He appreciated the work I’d done over the last 10 years [and] understood how difficult it might have been.”

Mr Gilchrist would not identify the police officer, but said it was a “senior officer” he had not met before, rather than his handlers from the anti-terrorist Special Investigations Group (SIG). He would not identify the memento, except to say it was not “as cheesy” as a certificate of merit.

Mr Gilchrist said he was recruited by the police ahead of the Apec summit in New Zealand in 1999.

He infiltrated various activist groups until he was discovered and outed by his now ex-girlfriend, animal rights activist Rochelle Rees.

Mr Gilchrist said New Zealanders should be thankful for his work, some of which “saved the country economically”. After Police Commissioner Howard Broad’s assurances that the SIG only targeted individuals, Ms Rees released emails showing that Mr Gilchrist also passed police information about the Green Party, student associations and union groups.

The Greens and unions have called for a Commission of Inquiry, and the Maritime Union yesterday threatened to strike [sic] unless it got a full explanation and apology from the police.

Asked what the relevance of Green Party and union actions were to the police, Mr Gilchrist said it would have related to protests.

He said his job was a “gatherer”, not an analyst, and the information might have had some use he did not know of.

He conceded he was not a real police officer, but would not say whether police had stopped paying him since he was exposed.

Mr Gilchrist said his cellphone was with the electronic crime unit after Ms Rees had said she placed spyware in it after realising he was an infiltrator.

He would not comment if his work in part led to Operation Eight and its so-called terror raids.

Operation 8 informant revealed

Rob Gilchrist … a Christchurch-based man … spied on activist groups for more than 10 years. He worked for the NZ Police and was sending information to Detective Peter Gilroy and Detective Sergeant John Sjoberg. They are both members of the Special Investigation Group (SIG). The SIG has groups in Auckland (headed by Aaron Lee Pascoe), Wellington (headed by Brian Woodcock) and Christchurch (where Gilroy and Sjoberg are based). This is the unit responsible for Operation 8.

Rob Gilchrist has not only participated in illegal activity, including breaking and entering buildings, but has incited others to do the same, all the while, being paid by Police to report on them. The Police then use this information to make a case to a court of law in order to obtain search warrants and interception warrants and to make arrests.

Gilchrist provided Police with information on at least three of the defendants in Operation 8 – the name for the State Terror raids of October 15th 2007. The police affidavit which was used as evidence to gain interception warrants against these people and many others is filled with ‘informant information’.

The ‘informant information’ is not available to the defendants. The identity of the informant is secret. This leaves the defendants in a legal black hole – defending themselves against information they do not have access to, from a person whose credibility cannot be questioned.

Mr Gilchrist said his personal view was that many of the causes he infiltrated “do a lot of good”.

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Gilchrist sent naked photos of teenager to police
Sunday, 21 December 2008, 3:29 pm
Press Release: Rochelle Rees

21/12/2008
Rob Gilchrist sent naked photos of teenage activist to police

Further in the emails sent by Rob Gilchrist to the police counter-terrorism units, was an email sent on 30/07/2005, containing naked photographs of a female and then teenage activist, sent with the subject line “needs a shave…”.

For obvious reasons of privacy, I will not release the photographs themselves or the details of the activist concerned. However I feel that this matter is of huge significance, since this brings into question whether police attitudes towards women have actually changed in the wake of the recent police rape trials, police pornography scandal, and subsequent recommendations by Dame Margaret Bazley.

There is no evidence that the police objected to the “needs a shave…” email, and clearly Rob Gilchrist had reason to believe that police would want to receive such an email. On the contrary, the fact that the police continued paying Rob Gilchrist $600 per week for over another 3 years, shows they did not view his conduct as grossly inappropriate.

Also discovered on Rob Gilchrist’s computer were naked photos of a then 16 year old activist, which look to have been taken while she was sleeping. Naturally, I am left wondering if those were forwarded to the police, and whether any photographs of a similar nature were taken of me and sent to the police.

Rob Gilchrist also had photographs on his computer he had taken of the previously mentioned 16 year old girl, and another 16 year old female activist, taken seperately, with them posing with his guns. This included shots of one of the said girls posing with one of Rob’s guns pointed to her head, and in her mouth. The photographs showed these girls in various outfits, including full camoflague, and some of one of them with a towel in her hair, clearly having just got out of the shower.

A rather large pornography collection with some disturbing videos and images was also present on Rob Gilchrist’s computer.

If at the time of our relationship I had had any knowledge of Rob Gilchrist’s sexist attitudes towards women, or his now obvious repeated interest in very young women, I would not have gone near him. The whole thing makes me feel sick.

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See also…

Rob Gilchrist : Police Informant (December 14, 2008) | Moaron Rob Gilchrist (December 17, 2008) | “Allahu akbar!” “Free the battery hens!” “Allahu akbar!” (December 19, 2008)

Amanda is in your extended network (December 7, 2008) : Concerning the exposure of a number of police agents and informants who infiltrated the RNC Welcoming Committee, beginning in 2007. As a result of their testimony, eight anarchists belonging to the RNC-WC are facing terrorism charges in Minnesota. The four infiltrators are identified as being: Marilyn Hedstrom, Chris Dugger, Andrew Darst and Rachel Nieting (‘Amanda’).

Victoria Police denounce McDonald’s (Kinda sorta) (November 5, 2007) : On ‘Setha Sann’, Victorian Security Intelligence Group operative. He helped keep the world safe from people who save chickens, think Trotsky was a d00d, and don’t like war.

Mehmet Ersoy/Osman : Former officer hired to spy (October 17, 2008) | Revealed: spying on Anarchists (October 3, 2006) : On Mehmet, a former Victorian police intelligence unit officer, now training Iraqi police.

Tom Gabel : ‘Anna Is A Stool Pigeon’ (November 29, 2008) | Eric McDavid : Twenty Years Jail (May 14, 2008) | “My name is Anna, and I’m an FBI informant.” “Hi Anna!” (September 25, 2007)